May’s POVThe loud banging jolted me from a restless sleep I didn’t even realized I was in, my body protesting. Damn, it was aching from the cold, hard floor I had collapsed on hours before.How in the world had I ended up sleeping on the floor right here at the door when I had only remembered crying as if my life depended on the tears that were coming?My back ached with a dull, persistent throb, and a groan slipped through my lips as I struggled to stand. Damn, not even that was easy.I heard the banging against my door again and I furrowed my brows in confusion. At the rate whoever it was was banging against the door, one would think I was owing them a shitload of money. Except, I don’t have debtors. I hated being in debts, and so far, I had avoided it.If it wasn’t my stepfather’s debtors tracking me down here, then I had nothing to worry about."Okay, okay, I'm coming! Don't break down the door!" I shouted, my voice laced with annoyance and fatigue. It was only after the words ha

May’s POVThe phone at my desk rang, piercing the quiet buzz of the office. I was working on something Gary asked me to work on, so why was he calling me?I glanced at the receiver to see that it wasn’t a call from his office. Sighing, I reached over to grab the receiver with one hand and tucking a loose strand of hair behind my ear without the other as I answered with a practiced greeting. "May Campbell, how can I assist you?" I asked.There was a silence at the other side and I wondered if I had missed the call, then I heard the person spoke."Hi, this is Jenny from reception. There's a package here for you. Would you like to come down and get it, or should I send it up?" she said, asking.What package? Who could have sent a package to me? I wasn’t expecting anything anyway. I was sure the security downstairs would have made sure it was safe, so I didn’t have to higher about that. It wasn’t as if I had an enemy to worry about though.Sighing again, I glanced at the stack of papers o

May’s POVOh that’s right! I just remembered I needed to get some groceries, but I was going to have to do that later this evening, and mentally, I calculated what I had left. My savings were draining fast. Really fast.The amount to be paid if I went for the auction was really going to hold the fort a whole lot, but I just wasn’t comfortable with the invite, and with the fact that Asher would be there. I mean, why in the whole did they invite me to be one of the people auctioned off at that event?Was Ellen trying to pity me by adding me to the people that would be auctioned off, and paying me? That and so many questions were on my mind.Who knew what creep or arrogant bastard would win my hand at dinner, and what else they might ask of me, even though the letter she sent clearly stated that all we needed to do was eat with them.“I know you’re still thinking about that, but don’t you think you’re overthinking this?” Emily asked, being the usual pain in the neck she usually was. “I a

Asher’s POVTaking a deep breath to steady my nerves, I dialed my mother's number, staring down at the screen of my phone to see when my mother picked it up.The phone rang briefly before she answered, her tone light and carefree. I pressed the phone to my ear, and then I cleared my throat, so that my voice won’t come out croaky."Hey, Mom," I started, trying to mask the tension in my voice. "Brent just told me something about the auction... that May is on the guest list and she's being auctioned off for a date. That's not true, is it?"I just wanted her to say that we had got things wrong, that that wasn’t the case. I wanted her to laugh at my question and tell me that I was saying nonsense, but she didn’t.There was a brief silence on the line, and then my mother's voice came through, confirming what I dreaded to hear. "Oh, yes, it's true. May called a little while ago to confirm her attendance, so I've added her name to the list. Isn't that wonderful?"“Isn’t that wonderful?” Reall

Asher’s POVJust eight more minutes, and I would have been waiting a full hour for Brent. I hate waiting. I glanced down at my Rolex, shaking my head in frustration before returning to the glass of brandy I had been nursing since I walked into the hotel bar.Where the hell was Brent, anyway? As I scanned the crowd, my irritation grew. I had called him from the office to meet me here, and somehow, I had managed to arrive before him and had been waiting nearly an hour.If he didn’t show by nine o’clock, I was going to have to leave. Whatever he wanted to discuss could wait until tomorrow. I had better things to do than sit around in a bar.Oh, crap. I suddenly remembered I had the early morning meeting tomorrow that would run into noon, and the brief one with my father.“May I help you with anything else, signore?” A uniformed waiter approached, breaking my train of thought. Being in an Italian hotel, it wasn't unusual to be addressed this way, but I’ve never gotten used to it.“No, tha